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7:00 am - Location: Auditorium Corridor

Registration opens 

 

7:30 am - 8:00 am

Breakfast

 

8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

• Session: FS Math Review

• Speaker: Mike Davis, Dewberry

• Credits: 4 4

• Description: This session is designed for those preparing to take CST level II, III, or the Fundamentals of Surveying exam. Topics include Algebra/Geometry for Surveyors, Bearings/Azimuths, Right/oblique/Obtuse Trigonometry, Intersections, and Coordinate Geometry. A scientific calculator is required. Click here for approved calculators.

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8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

• Session: MD Law Review

• Speaker: Kevin Norris, Kevin Norris Surveying, LLC

• Credits: 4

• Description: This session is to prepare individuals for the Maryland Law Component of the surveyor’s licensing exam.  The material will cover laws pertaining to surveying from the Annotated Code of Maryland, Code of Maryland Regulations, and Maryland case law.  While this class is not intended to be an all-inclusive law course, it is intended to help you better prepare for the surveyor’s exam. 

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8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

• Session: Carlson Field to Finish

• Speaker: Jim Carlson, Carlson Software

• Credits: 4

• Description: Step by Step instructions for setting up Carlson Field-to-Finish Field Codes (Descriptions) to plot field shots, stored as point numbers with these Codes (Descriptions), so these points plot as points only, 2DPolylines and/or 3DPolylines all layerized defined by the F2F Code.
  
  Special Codes B to Begin, E to End, PC to Start a Curve and PT to End a Curve will be discussed and examples shown. Additional Special codes will be discussed and shown how they work i.e. JPN Join Nearest, RECT 4-Sided Polygon, CLO Close Polyline (Polygon) Obscure Special Codes will be discussed OH, OV, JOG, AFIT, RAMP, CIR, SMO and PARKING and results shown.
  
  GIS Attributes Coding and output to ERSI SHP files will be discussed and shown.
  
  Report Codes and Points and Code Table by Points will both be discussed.
  
  Column Options and Categories will both be discussed.
  
  Adding Symbol Libraries to select and use in Field-to-Finish i.e. editptsym - Edit/Create Symbol Library command.

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8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

• Session: Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back Into the Water!: The Inloes' Cases

• Speaker: Joel Leininger, S.J. Martenet & Co., Inc.

• Credits: 4

• Description: Spanning 15 years of litigation, five different appellate decisions, and generating 195 pages of Court Opinion, this dispute is one that Federal District Court Judge Northrup later characterized as an example of the "great heritage of the law of property in Maryland."​
  
  The controversy had it all: colorful characters (one of whom escaped the hangman's noose by a Queen's pardon), ambiguous property descriptions, governmental meddling and, in the end, complete irony. And yet it is the source of some of Maryland's greatest boundary retracement doctrine.
  
  ​Where did all of this happen? Right in our own back yard.

 

This session qualifies to meet the requirements of COMAR 09.13.08.03(B) for ethics, law and standards of practice.

 

8:00 am - 10:00 am 

• Session: Least Squares for Beginners

• Speaker: James Shaw, JMT

• Credits: 2

• Description: Maryland surveying law essentially requires the use of least squares for control adjustment. Still, many surveyors are intimidated by the least squares adjustment process. This session will delve into the philosophy, terminology, and procedures for performing a least squares adjustment. We will explore weighing the observation data and just what a Chi-Square test is. We will discuss the difference between linear least squares versus non-linear least squares and how to differentiate between the two when choosing least squares adjustment software. Finally, we will dispel myths, misconceptions, and potential misuse surrounding this vital tool that every surveyor should have in their toolbox. Least squares adjustment really can be a surveyor’s best friend.

 

8:00 am - 10:00 am 

• Session: A Booming Land-Office Business

• Speaker: Wayne Twigg

• Credits: 2

• Description: Journey back in time to investigate some of the tenets and procedures by which land was acquired in the British Province of Maryland and during the infancy of the new State of Maryland. We will scrutinize the procedures that our ancestors used to obtain a clear title to tracts of land, as well as zoom in on actual Warrants, highlight some actual Certificates of Survey and focus on actual Patents. After the Revolutionary War, those soldiers who applied for them received tracts of land as rightful payment for their military service to their new country. Your modern responsibility as a Professional Land Surveyor includes those tracts of land too.
  
  Land Surveyors, beware: We shouldn't think that ancient land titles are no longer relevant in our modern society. There are properties existing in Maryland today that are still described and controlled by the original Certificates of Survey and by the original Patents. We will demonstrate that by showing you examples of modern lands whose boundaries could not be accurately determined without including the investigation of the original descriptions. Truly, we are followers in the footsteps of our professional predecessors. Remember: "The Past is Prologue."

• Handout 1 | Handout 2 | Handout 3 | Handout 4 | Handout 5 | Handout 6 | Handout 7

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10:00 am - 12:00 pm

• Session: Intro to NGS 92: Classifications, Accuracy Standards, and General Specifications for GNSS Surveys

• Speaker: Charles Geoghegan, NOAA/NGS

• Credits: 2

• Description: The session will introduce the upcoming NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NGS 92, the Classification, Standards, and Specifications document which provides guidance for GNSS survey projects.  While NGS 92 can be applied to almost any GNSS survey to ensure a quality product, it and the new OPUS Projects 5 processing tool are being developed collaboratively.  Consequently, a project that adheres to NGS 92 will not only work well with OPUS, but can also meet requirements for inclusion into the NGS Integrated Database.

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12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Lunch

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1:00 pm - 3:00 pm 

• Session: Beyond Land Records: Digging Deeper through Equity and Probate

• Speaker: Rachel Frazier, Maryland State Archives

• Credits: 2

• Description: Discover the value of the Maryland State Archives' collections when digging deeper into property research. While we can access land records online from home, more nuggets of knowledge are buried within collections like equity records and probate records. This session will build your confidence in conducting deeper research, and will provide additional resources for tougher challenges.

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1:00 pm - 3:00 pm 

• Session: Navigating the Shift: Understanding the Impact of 2025 Datum Changes on Surveying Practices

• Speaker: Charles Geoghegan, NOAA/NGS

• Credits: 2

• Description: The session will provide an update on the fundamental improvements needed for professionals and the user community, as well as the preparative measures associated with the modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). Scheduled for completion in 2025, the modernized NSRS will provide improved 3-dimensional positional accuracy through time for improved comparisons of diverse GIS data sets, development of parcel-based land information systems and an array of other uses including precision navigation, intelligent transportation systems, etc.  Discussion will include how modernization might impact current surveyor’s day-to-day practice, and how the design and implementation of the new NSRS can implicitly improve surveyor’s data and deliverables. NGS online tools for accessing the NSRS and to assist with transitioning work-flow between datums will be discussed.

• HANDOUT 1 | HANDOUT 2 | HANDOUT 3​

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1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (invitation only)

• Session: Exam Writing

• Speaker: TJ Frazier

• Credits: 4

• Description: TBD

 

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

• Session: SurvNET/SurveyGNSS Network Least Squares class

• Speaker: Jim Carlson and Jesse Kozlowski, Carlson Software

• Credits: 4

• Description: The goal of this session is to show how to combine using SurvPC7 field data collection GPS observations with total station measurements and digital leveling to produce one seamless data set of 3D X, Y and Z dimensional control values that are consistent and homogenous across an entire project within the ALTA/ACSM relative positional accuracy specification i.e. +/- 0.07 feet (or 20mm) + 50 ppm.
  
  What will be shown in SurvNET with the use of SurveyGNSS RTN post processing is how to achieve this through the use of a NGS CORS Real Time Network RTN to enable numerous survey crews to work separately anywhere along the route or boundary survey at any time and still produce coordinates and elevations that are consistent with one another within the ALTA/ACSM relative positional accuracy specification for the entire survey project.
  
  What not to do and what to do to make Network Least Squares field processing in the office with SurvNET/surveyGNSS work best in the field will be discussed.

 

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

• Session: MD Road Grade & Storm Drain (Minor Engineering) Review

• Speaker: Bill Bower, Atwell, LLC

• Credits: 4

• Description: The MD Road Grade & Storm Drain (Minor Engineering) review class is intended as a review of the hydrologic and hydraulic principles of the design and construction of storm drain structures and ESD devices, and the principles of vertical curve design for highways in Maryland to prepare surveyors for the Maryland Road Grade and Storm Drain (Minor Engineering) portion of the Professional Land Surveyor’s licensing exam. 

• The course will utilize the following design manuals:

  • MDSHA Storm Drain Design Manual

  • MDE Maryland Stormwater Design Manual, Volumes I & II

  • MDE’s 2011 Standards & Specifications for Soil Erosion & Sediment Control

  • USDA-NRCS Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds (TR-55)​​

• ​Students are expected to be familiar with these manuals prior to attending the class. A laptop with PDF versions of the manuals is recommended. The instructor will review design concepts and provide practice problems to complete during the class.

 

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

• Session: OPUS Projects 5.2 Updates and New Features

• Speaker: Charles Geoghegan NOAA/NGS

• Credits: 2

• Description: NGS's latest version of Online Positioning Users' Service for projects (OPUS Projects 5.2) includes several updates, one of which is the ability to import Network RTK (NRTK) or single-base RTK (SRTK) in GVX format.  This session consists of a live demonstration of OPUS Projects (OP) for positioning and height determination.  Whether or not you intend to submit your project to NGS through OP, learning proper use will ensure a solid tie to realizations of the National Spatial Reference System's (NSRS) NAD83 and NAVD88, or other major datums output by OP.  This session is not a substitute for the multi-day OP Manager's Training and will not grant the same access.​

 

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

• Session: 3D Laser Scanning & Crime Scene Investigations

• Speaker: Gabrielle Toy, Anne Arundel County Police

• Credits: 2

• Description: The basics of crime scene processing/documentation and how 3D laser scanning was implemented and continues to be incorporated in the Anne Arundel County PD Crime Scene Unit’s documentation workflow will be presented. Participants will be provided case studies, best practices, and lessons learned while using this type of equipment for documentation in the Public Safety Sector.

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3:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

• Session: Legal Descriptions: How to Write a Bad Description

• Speaker: Kevin Norris, Norris Land Surveying, LLC

• Credits: 2

• Description: This session will provide an over of the required and suggested components of a legal description.  As furtherance to what is needed for a proper legal description, there will be a discussion of the perils and pitfalls of deeds that inadequately describe real property.